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rock_n_reads's review
4.0
I absolutely loved Mercedes M. Yardley’s novella featured in the Lullabies for Suffering anthology. I found it so beautiful and heart wrenching that I immediately wanted more. Lucky for me, I had a copy of her collection Beautiful Sorrows already on my TBR cart.
The stories in this collection cover a wide range of topics and the writing is truly unique. Some stories made me laugh, others made me smile, and a few brought a tear to my eye. I love when a novel or short fiction collection can take me through a whole range of emotions. My top 5 stories in this collection were:
-BIG MAN BEN (overall favorite and one of the longest in the bunch. This story made me feel things.)
-HEARTLESS
-WINGS
-AXES
-THE BOY WHO HANGS THE STARS
I’d like to note that I was book-hopping a bit too much while reading this collection, rather than reading it straight through. This made it a bit tougher for me to recollect my thoughts on each of my favorites, or else I’d have notes for all of my top 5. Perhaps it might be best not to have many notes, as these stories speak for themselves, and some really pack a punch in just a few pages—I’d rather other readers discover firsthand what makes them special.
If you like stories that give you “feels” and bring out the beauty that is often overlooked in horror, I recommend this collection. There’s something in here for everyone. I’m excited to read some longer pieces from this author, as her short fiction was amazing—I have no doubts I’ll be impressed with more.
The stories in this collection cover a wide range of topics and the writing is truly unique. Some stories made me laugh, others made me smile, and a few brought a tear to my eye. I love when a novel or short fiction collection can take me through a whole range of emotions. My top 5 stories in this collection were:
-BIG MAN BEN (overall favorite and one of the longest in the bunch. This story made me feel things.)
-HEARTLESS
-WINGS
-AXES
-THE BOY WHO HANGS THE STARS
I’d like to note that I was book-hopping a bit too much while reading this collection, rather than reading it straight through. This made it a bit tougher for me to recollect my thoughts on each of my favorites, or else I’d have notes for all of my top 5. Perhaps it might be best not to have many notes, as these stories speak for themselves, and some really pack a punch in just a few pages—I’d rather other readers discover firsthand what makes them special.
If you like stories that give you “feels” and bring out the beauty that is often overlooked in horror, I recommend this collection. There’s something in here for everyone. I’m excited to read some longer pieces from this author, as her short fiction was amazing—I have no doubts I’ll be impressed with more.
bludfellow's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written, achingly touching stories that blur the line between reality and dreams. More than once I found myself thinking, "I wish I'd come up with this." Read it and weep.
shayduhs's review against another edition
3.0
I was planning on giving this book 2 stars because I found myself bored and disappointed with most of the short stories in this collection, but the last story (based on a true story) completely broke my heart and the author's notes at the end of the book made me reconsider my opinion about some of the stories so ... while I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to anyone or say that I enjoyed reading it, I'll say that Mercedes Yardley has a way with words and "Big Man Ben" is a story I'd recommend if you're looking for heart break and frustration.
sonshinelibrarian's review
5.0
I'm not usually much of a big short story reader, but I knew Mercedes around the blogosphere years ago, so I picked this up a while ago and only now read it.
The stories, on the surface, aren't connected, yet somehow there is a thread that ties them all together. Mercedes has a beautiful lyrical quality to her writing and each story take unexpected turns. There is beauty and horror, fantasy and realism - sometimes all in the same short story. And some of them are truly short short stories. Her mastery over language is startling at times and these stories will linger with you long after you read them.
The stories, on the surface, aren't connected, yet somehow there is a thread that ties them all together. Mercedes has a beautiful lyrical quality to her writing and each story take unexpected turns. There is beauty and horror, fantasy and realism - sometimes all in the same short story. And some of them are truly short short stories. Her mastery over language is startling at times and these stories will linger with you long after you read them.
icameheretoread's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this collection. Normally, I hate short story collections. After awhile the stories usually just jam together in my mind. That happened here, too. Even these lyrical little scary beauties did not really stand out toward the end, but this is my bad. Yardley's writing is awesome and clever.
This bit is worth the price of the book alone: "She seemed like such a nice girl, so the whole 'being an axe murderer' thing was pretty hard to handle." Most of the stories in this collection have hooks like this. Some play out like a demented dream, some whisp away like a puff of smoke.
I highly recommend Broken, Black Mary, Axes, and Untied.
I hope this is the beginning of a great career for Yardley. I'll look for more of her titles in the future.
This bit is worth the price of the book alone: "She seemed like such a nice girl, so the whole 'being an axe murderer' thing was pretty hard to handle." Most of the stories in this collection have hooks like this. Some play out like a demented dream, some whisp away like a puff of smoke.
I highly recommend Broken, Black Mary, Axes, and Untied.
I hope this is the beginning of a great career for Yardley. I'll look for more of her titles in the future.
catsy2022's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Rating: B
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
stephaniemwytovich's review
5.0
Beautiful Sorrows is a bloody dandelion floating through the crisp autumn air, fueled by the whispers of little children. It’s a little bit of winter with a hint of twilight, and yet at the same time it shines with the beauty of spring and fresh orchids. Reading this collection was like falling into a magical realm, one that I didn’t want to step out of, or ever leave. Yardley’s characters are stunning. Some of them have wings, a few dance with the stars, and a couple even wield axes and trump through their pages with marvelous dreams and well-kept secrets. Each tale is as enchanting as the last, and readers will fall in love, trip into sadness, and plummet into the dark imagination of a writer whose prose rolls off the tip of your tongue like silk-covered spikes.
ctgt's review
4.0
A tall, thin thing, a modern day Spring-Heeled Jack. His voice, when he spoke, was all lies and promises, sexy and deep, chartreuse and nuance and Lily of the Valley
Whimsical, horrific, fascinating, heartbreaking...what more could you ask for in a collection. You know how there are authors who are able to hit you in just the right spot? Or who are able to look at things from a different perspective....they hold a lens up and then tilt it, just so, and things look askew? That's what Yardley did for me with this collection.
A few highlights for me
Broken-two brutal lines
Black Mary-horrible subject matter made worse when I read what the author was going through in her personal life at the time.
The Boy Who Hangs The Stars-a girl meets a boy with holes in his hands
Untied-a boy(and tie) meets girl story unlike any you've ever read.
Music To Jump By-It was like watching his soul slip away, and not being able to do anything about it. A soul is a soft, indefinable thing, but the feeling of it sliding through your fingertips is unmistakable.
Stars-heartbreaking story of a man and a star.
She Called Him Sky-another touching boy meets girl story She took the boy home, gave him a bath, and gave him a name. She called him Sky because he always looked so sad, like the stars look sad. She thought of how the moon was always alone, never invited to tea, an eerily beautiful voyeur. Sky was just the right name.
Great collection, highly recommended.
9/10
Whimsical, horrific, fascinating, heartbreaking...what more could you ask for in a collection. You know how there are authors who are able to hit you in just the right spot? Or who are able to look at things from a different perspective....they hold a lens up and then tilt it, just so, and things look askew? That's what Yardley did for me with this collection.
A few highlights for me
Broken-two brutal lines
Black Mary-horrible subject matter made worse when I read what the author was going through in her personal life at the time.
The Boy Who Hangs The Stars-a girl meets a boy with holes in his hands
Untied-a boy(and tie) meets girl story unlike any you've ever read.
Music To Jump By-It was like watching his soul slip away, and not being able to do anything about it. A soul is a soft, indefinable thing, but the feeling of it sliding through your fingertips is unmistakable.
Stars-heartbreaking story of a man and a star.
She Called Him Sky-another touching boy meets girl story She took the boy home, gave him a bath, and gave him a name. She called him Sky because he always looked so sad, like the stars look sad. She thought of how the moon was always alone, never invited to tea, an eerily beautiful voyeur. Sky was just the right name.
Great collection, highly recommended.
9/10
tomunro's review against another edition
4.0
This feels in some ways like more of an artist's sketch book than a collection of short stories. Some of the pieces are exceptionally short, others border on the length of a novella. There is a particular niche that Mercedes M Yardley has carved out for herself in pursuing a whimsical examination of some morbid themes - defying the Kay Scarpetta type treatment. Despite this though, there is still an incredible variety to the writings here that flitter lightly and at times quite humouressly around some dark (at times desperately so) scenarios.
Some of the stories were born of stimuli in writing groups, while others were submissions to particular short story competitions, and it is interesting in the afterword to read the stories behind each story and to gain an insight into the mind of an author.
I came to this book having already ready and loved "Pretty Little Dead Girls." That work struck me as a single inspirational idea that grew and bloomed into a full fledged and well sustained novel. The short stories heree at times felt like they were similar ideas being tested to see if they had the legs to run the distance of a full novel, and there are a fair few of them that could have done it and none that are stretched thin in the telling here. It is I guess, a measure of the author's craft, that they leave you wanting more.
The reason why I fell short of five stars is that the variety of styles and stories made it difficult for all to appeal to me equally deeply, though the quality of writing shines through in all of them. It was an easy read, a book to dip into and read a story at a time, the kind that makes a great Christmas gift, so perhaps this review is a little belated.
My favourite story, for we must have favorites (but don't tell the others) is Axes, it made me laugh out loud and I would love to read more about the heroine and her staggeringly poor, but ultimately fortuitous taste in flatmates.
Some of the stories were born of stimuli in writing groups, while others were submissions to particular short story competitions, and it is interesting in the afterword to read the stories behind each story and to gain an insight into the mind of an author.
I came to this book having already ready and loved "Pretty Little Dead Girls." That work struck me as a single inspirational idea that grew and bloomed into a full fledged and well sustained novel. The short stories heree at times felt like they were similar ideas being tested to see if they had the legs to run the distance of a full novel, and there are a fair few of them that could have done it and none that are stretched thin in the telling here. It is I guess, a measure of the author's craft, that they leave you wanting more.
The reason why I fell short of five stars is that the variety of styles and stories made it difficult for all to appeal to me equally deeply, though the quality of writing shines through in all of them. It was an easy read, a book to dip into and read a story at a time, the kind that makes a great Christmas gift, so perhaps this review is a little belated.
My favourite story, for we must have favorites (but don't tell the others) is Axes, it made me laugh out loud and I would love to read more about the heroine and her staggeringly poor, but ultimately fortuitous taste in flatmates.
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